FOREVER BELOVED (Billionaire Love Series) (12 page)

“Sorry. Fresh out of harems. Plus, I like my
women willing and hot.” His stare turned dark with desire.

My pulse quickened. “Glad to hear it. I like
men willing and hot, too,” I let out, picking up my wine glass and
bringing it to my lips.

Crackle.

Sizzle.

Sizzle.

That fiery connection we had from long ago
came roaring back to life as he held my gaze with a smoldering
stare.

Oh, boy.

This trip might get complicated.

Real complicated.

He was going to be hard to resist, especially
as he reeled me in with one hot sexy glance. It was best to end
this conversation while I still could. Otherwise, I might throw
myself into his big strapping arms and let him do all kinds of
delicious things to me, like hold me down and make love to me.

Whoa, Nelly.

He was so damn dangerous to my
self-control.

I cleared my throat, trying to cool down my
hormones. “If I’m gonna stay a couple of days, I should make some
phone calls. Will you excuse me?”

“Sure. Tell Emma I said hello.”

“I will.” I managed to scoot my chair back
and walk out of the room.

My cheeks were flushed and my body was in
overdrive, wanting something I couldn’t have. Only Beau could make
me feel so much with a few words and a sexy stare.

He still wanted me.

God knows, I wanted him.

Ignoring my body’s demands, I headed back to
my room. Grabbing my phone out of my purse, I called Emma as I
walked through some French doors out onto a beautiful stone balcony
located outside my bedroom.

“Hey, Sugarpop!” I greeted as the fresh ocean
air caressed my cheek.

“Hey, where are you?” my sister’s sweet voice
asked.

“Um…that’s a very good question. I met up
with Beau to talk about Charlie and now I’m in a bit of a pickle. I
have a huge favor to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to cover for me at the salon
because I’m currently out of the country.”

“What? Where are you?” she asked with barely
contained excitement.

“The Bahamas.”

“What are you doing there?”

“Beau had some papers for me to sign for
Charlie’s trust.”

“What kind of money are we talking
about?”

She was still bold in her questions.

“Why are you always concerned about that
stuff?”

“I don’t know. I just wanna know.”

I sighed into the phone. “It’s more money
than Charlie could spend in a lifetime.”

“Wow. How do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know. I worry he won’t make anything
of himself and just live on his father’s money floating through
life.”

“Maybe you could put some conditions on his
trust.”

“Like what?”

“Like he has to give back to the
community.”

“Oh, I like that idea. Charlie does have a
heart to help people.”

“He does and this will keep him attached to
his roots.”

“You’re right. I’ll talk to Beau.”

“How are things going with him?”

“Okay,” I answered vaguely, even as my cheeks
flushed red.

“Mm-hmm...I bet they are,” she teased.

I couldn’t get anything by her.

We talked a little longer and she promised to
change my appointments as we said goodbye. I was glad I had a
sister I could rely on.

After I got off the phone with her, I turned
my attention to buying supplies for my stay. I was going to have to
head into town for those. I wasn’t sure where to go, so I tracked
down Beau in his study to see if he could tell me where to
shop.

When I found him, he was staring intently at
his laptop as he sat at his desk. I was so glad he had overcome his
reading issues and become the confident businessman he clearly was.
He never ceased to amaze me. It was one of the many things I loved
about him.

“I’d like to talk to you about the conditions
on Charlie’s trust,” I said as he glanced up from the screen.

“What about the conditions?”

“I don’t like the idea of handing him money.
I want him to be old enough to handle the responsibility, help in
the community, work and further his education.”

“It’s already done.”

“Really?”

“You didn’t expect me to write a check for a
hundred million dollars, did you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never considered the
responsibility of having so much money before. How do you do
it?”

“Carefully. I earned it the hard way, through
good old-fashioned hard work. I don’t intend to blow my fortune.
That’s why I have a diverse portfolio with different
investments.”

“God, you sound like such a business
man.”

“That’s what I do, Marla. I’m all about
business.”

The way he said it, kind of made me sad. He
seemed to throw himself into his company and all of his businesses,
but nothing else made him happy.

It occurred to me he needed to have some fun.
He had taught me that once. Maybe I could return the favor.

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. Now that
Charlie’s trust is settled, wanna go on a walk through town with
me?” I asked, coming further into his study.

He sighed. “I’ve got a ton of work to do. I
don’t think so.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be this international
playboy? And you won’t go on one little walk with me into town?
What will become of your reputation?”

He grinned as I tried to persuade him. “I
don’t really care about my reputation.”

“Then, come on. It’s a beautiful day, we’re
in paradise, and I want to get out and enjoy this fabulous
island.”

“You can go without me.”

“I could, but it wouldn’t be as much fun.
Come on, Beau. Let’s enjoy this moment fate has given us.”

“Fate, huh?”

I could see his resistance weakening. “Fate.
Good old-fashioned fate has brought us together on this beautiful
day. We would be remiss not to enjoy it.”

“Remiss...really?” he let out with another
smile. “I see you still like to use big words.”

“I do and you never know which one I’ll use
next.” I arched my brow. “Are you comin’ or not?”

“Let me wrap up this email and I’ll meet you
on the back veranda.”

My toes curled in my Keds as I resisted the
urge to break out into my happy dance. “Sure. Sounds good. See you
in a bit.”

I managed to stop myself from skipping out of
his study, but it was a fight to do so.

It wasn’t much, just a walk, but it gave me
hope.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Beau:

When I wasn’t with Marla, I raged against
what she had done to me.

But when I was around her, a funny thing
happened. She blasted me with good energy, soothing the wild beast
inside.

It didn’t make sense.

I tried to remind myself she was treacherous,
but it didn’t seem to do much good.

I craved her attention.

So I had the bank conveniently be tied up in
other legal matters as I pretended to call my lawyer. Really, I
wanted more time to loosen her up and ply her with fresh air and
luxurious accommodations to get into her pants.

Things were progressing nicely. She seemed
thrilled I was being nice to her.

I was just biding my time.

I let her come to me and set the pace.

It didn’t take long.

She wandered into my office after a late
lunch. “You wanna go into town with me?”

Her smile was extra bright, her eyes burning
with hope.

She was so beautiful; I had trouble
reconciling my feelings whenever she was present. It wasn’t in the
plans to go on a walk with her. I should have said no, but I
couldn’t resist her sweet plea.

I confess I had a better time than I
expected.

We meandered into town, about a mile and a
half from my house. We weren’t saying much, but Charlie was on my
mind and I decided to ask her about him.

“So what’s he like?” I asked as we walked
along a dirt road lined with tall grass and palm trees.

“Are you asking about Charlie?”

“I am.”

Her pretty face lit up with pride. “Our son
is an awesome kid. He got the best of both of us. He’s book smart,
but he has your sense of fun. He’s always done well in school,
although he has gotten in trouble from time to time. When he was
seventeen, I caught him running a craps game in the back alley of
the public library.”

I chuckled. “Enterprising spirit...sounds
like me.”

“Yeah, I found a wad of cash in a pair of his
cargo pants, which made me very suspicious and I had to break him
down to get him to finally confess to the truth. I’m just glad it
wasn’t drugs.”

“Me too. What else?”

“Let’s see. He went to Baltimore University,
earned his degree, and he’s been working at the salon, keeping our
books. He’s been close to Emma and looked out for her when she
needed it. You should have seen what he did to Micah when he was
trying to win Emma back. I almost peed my pants when he told me the
story. That boy has no fear, I tell you. He must get that from
you.”

I smiled, thinking about Charlie’s antics. “I
heard what he did. He pulled something similar on me.”

“No! Really?” Her glance was bright with
delighted disbelief.

“Yeah, he dressed up in a tiger speed skating
suit and acted like he couldn’t skate. He rolled around, telling me
how much fun he was having as he tried to make snow angels on the
ice. He would’ve kept it up if Micah hadn’t shown up.”

She let out a beautiful laugh as she threw
her head back. “That kid! He’s a corker! I’m glad Micah was able to
let you know about his tricks.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, it was good
thing because as soon as Charlie realized the gig was up, he
started skating beautifully and acting normally.”

“That’s classic Charlie. Total goofball, but
all heart.”

“Yeah, I wish I could have seen him grow
up.”

“Me, too, Beau,” she agreed quietly.

Her compassionate tone made me want to be
honest. “I don’t know, Marla. I’ve missed so much. It feels kinda
weird to play catch with my grown up son.”

“Beau, there are no rules or expiration dates
to this. It might look different from when he was ten, but follow
your instinct. Grab a pizza or take him surfing. He’ll love that.”
She gave me a comforting grin. “Don’t overthink it. It’ll be okay.
You may need some time to work out the relationship details, but I
know my son and he has a desire to connect with you.”

“So you’re cool with us hanging out?”

“Of course I am. I’ve always wanted that for
both of you.”

“Did he ask about me growing up?” I asked, my
glance swimming in doubt.

She smiled reassuringly. “He did when he
realized other kids had a dad around and he didn’t. He would ask me
questions every few years and I would tell him as much about you as
I thought was appropriate.”

“What was appropriate?”

“I told him his dad was a good man, but for
many reasons, he wasn’t able to be with us.”

“God, Marla, why didn’t you just tell me? I
needed to know...I had a right to know!” I uttered in
frustration.

“Yes, you did and all I can say is I’m sorry.
I would have loved to tell you, but I couldn’t.”

“Why couldn’t you?”

“That is a can of worms, Beau. One you need
to be sure you want to open. Because once you find out, there is no
going back. There is a cost with this and you have to decide if you
want to pay it.”

“Why is there a cost to knowing what
happened?”

“Because there just is and I don’t want you
to get hurt any more than you already have.”

“You’re protecting me?” I asked in
disbelief.

“I am.”

I shook my head. “I don’t know what to say to
that, except it feels like you’re playing a mind-fuck game with
me.”

“I’m not. I don’t have anything to gain or
lose in this situation. I have no angle, just a simple desire to
warn you.”

“It’s that simple, huh?”

“Yeah, I’m just a simple gal,” she claimed,
her glance full of sincerity.

I didn’t know what to do with that.

I wanted to believe her, but it wasn’t
possible with our past.

Tired of arguing, I let it drop as we walked
a little more in silence. The peaceful countryside calmed me down,
as a soft breeze brought in the smell of the ocean and the rich
song of the native birds played overhead.

“Charlie would love it down here. It’s so
beautiful,” Marla said, glancing around at the lush scenery.

“Yeah, I fell in love with the island the
first time I came down here.”

“I bet.” Her doe eyes lit bright. “You know
what? I have a great idea.”

“What?”

“Let’s call Charlie and invite him to join
us. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

I sighed, wondering how I would seduce her
with my kid around. “Sure, why not.”

Marla:

Beau didn’t seem thrilled with my
announcement, but I thought it would be a wonderful idea for
Charlie to spend time with us. Plus, he would also serve as a great
buffer between Beau and me.

“I’m gonna call Charlie now,” I said,
whipping out my cell phone.

“No, you don’t need to do that,” Beau
countered.

“I want to. I want you to have every chance
to get to know Charlie.”

He nodded, pacing along the dirt road while I
placed the call.

“Hey, Charlie Brown, it’s your mama,” I said
as soon as he answered.

“Hello, Momacita. What’s shakin’, bacon?”

I grinned into the phone. “Not much, although
I’m in the Bahamas.”

“You went on vacation without me?”

“Um...well, it was supposed to be a quick
trip to New York City to sign some papers, but somehow I ended up
on a tropical island.”

“Let me guess, this is all Beau’s doing,” he
surmised.

“Funny you should mention him; he’s invited
you to come down here with us. He’ll send his plane for you
tomorrow, if you care to join us?” I asked brightly, hoping he
would go for it.